Heat treatment - vacuum - what is it?

Steel used in the production of the tools and machine parts or other elements that are subject to various loads or heat up during operation must be highly resistant, must not wear abrasion, deform, etc. To keep it short, the heat treatment of steel in vacuum furnaces allows to obtain optimal properties of the material, provided, of course, that it has a properly selected chemical composition.

Vacuum heat treatment in the furnace

The heat treatment process is carried out in a vacuum furnace with quenching. The temperature of the processed steel is monitored and controlled at all times. The first stage of processing is a gradual increase in temperature. We are talking about austenithization, heating steel to obtain an austenite structure. When we reach the desired temperature, the workpiece is hardened. Cooling occurs at maximum speed and then tempering. Steel achieves the desired properties, the material acquires appropriate hardness, and the surface of the element does not degrade. Machining gives 100% predictable results, dimensional stability, the whole process is planned from A to Z.

Why choose heat treatment in a vacuum?

Some of our readers will wonder why we are actually talking about heat treatment of steel in a vacuum, why a vacuum furnace gives us the best results? - Because vacuum has no impurities. The air is filled with various elements that react with metals and their alloys. It contains not only oxygen and carbon dioxide. When temperature rises, reactions between elements in the air and those in the composition of steel accelerate. Vacuum treatment of steel is also environmentally friendly, the process does not generate harmful impurities, and in addition is energy efficient.